When you aren’t a major airport like Atlanta’s Hartfield Airport, O’Hare in Chicago, or JFK in NYC, you need to do something special with the lack of terminal space. Something to send travelers off with a unique experience or at least one last fond memory of the trip. For the airport in Portland, Maine, that comes in the form of flying people to the Moon.
Home to the second largest chunk of the moon known to exist on Earth, the piece is just a bit larger than a rugby ball and tips the scales at 97 lbs. Flanked by one of the largest chunks of Mars on Earth and other space pieces, they are there on loan from the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum and will be on display for five years.
Done in conjunction with the solar eclipse, curators of the Museum hope that this installation will help people connect with the event. As most of northern Maine will be in the direct path, and a partial eclipse for the rest of the state, there is a huge buzz about the event. Naturally, people from across the US and Canada are expected to flock to the area and generate some serious traffic.
Taking people to the Moon, if only to touch it while firmly planted on the Earth, is a special experience, and this alone makes it worth the trip to the airport. The only real question left to answer is how much this chunk of the moon could interfere with people going through security if they touch it too much. While highly unlikely, it would be a very Maine thing to have happen.
